Fall Sports Guide: Trona football preview

Tuesday

Sep 3, 2013 at 3:28 PM

A new era at The Pit

By Anthony GentileSPORTS EDITORagentile@ridgecrestca.com

As Trona begins a new chapter of its football program, it is taking a page from the past. The Tornadoes begin the 2013 season under the direction of new head coach Curtis Boutte, who graduated from the school in 1991."This is a blessing. It's an opportunity I've dreamed about — coming back and coaching this team," Boutte said.Boutte was named head coach in May, replacing John Foster. Trona made the playoffs in each of Foster's seven seasons coaching the Tornadoes, and he left with a .653 winning percentage."I'm walking in here trying to fill huge shoes," Boutte said. "I respect John Foster and I respect what he's done with the program. Hopefully, I don't make too many changes, because I would like to be in CIF, too."When Boutte attended Trona, the school played 11-man football. By the time he returned to the area to work at the plant a few years ago, the Tornadoes had already been playing 8-man football for a couple years."It's a very tough adjustment — 8-man is very fast paced," Boutte said. "In 11-man you'll run the ball up the middle and play smashmouth football, and in 8-man it seems like a lot more trickery is there. Standard 8-man (football) is a trick play to me."In addition to making the adjustment to 8-man football, Boutte is making the adjustment to his first head coaching job in high school football. When he first got started, he reached out to league rival Immanuel Christian's head coach Aaron Gage for advice."We would really like to build a bond in our league," Boutte said. "Everybody has a new coach except for Lee Vining and ICS, and it's a chance for our league to bond together. We're going to have rivalries, but there's no reason we have to be tough off the field."On the field, Trona plans to be more aggressive on both sides of the ball this season. That plan includes a wide-open offensive approach that will feature more passing. "Last year's team had the talent and the size to run the ball, and we're going to have to go airborne," Boutte said.Senior Marquis Griffin will be the quarterback of the Tornadoes' offense. In his first year playing the position, Griffin's coach called him a quick thinker, fast runner and good team leader."I've been getting the hang of it. It has come pretty easy, but there are some times when I do mess up and I try to fix it," Griffin said. "I'm not that good at throwing right now, but I'm working on it."Other top returning players for Trona include running back/lineman Jesse Renzelman, receiver/defensive back Andrew Moreno, running back/lineman Chuk Hayslett and lineman Trevor Boutte. Renzelman is the captain of this year's team."I want to lead by what I do," Renzelman said. "If my teammates see me doing a lot of work, they'll probably do a lot of work. We're a young team and we need to put some effort out and show the community what we have."The top varsity newcomers are running back/safety Chris Moreno and receiver/safety Marquise Ward. Moreno is a physical back that is playing his first season of varsity football, and Ward is currently out while recovering from a broken ankle.Trona's offseason program started in June, and Boutte said attendance was good during the summer. Griffin said that the Tornadoes' new coach constantly pushed the team to work harder during workouts."He actually makes us work," Griffin said. "It feels good to actually have someone pushing us to where we need to be. We worked way harder this offseason."Trona is hoping that hard work will pay off this season as it looks to defend its Hi-Lo League championship. The young Tornadoes face a challenging league title defense. "We have the skill, we just have to put the effort out and show them what we have," Renzelman said. "It's a motivator for us to keep going."Trona kicks off the regular season Friday night against Public Safety Academy (San Bernardino) at 7 p.m. in The Pit. The Tornadoes then face Immanuel Christian Sept. 7 at Cerro Coso Community College. "We really want to get back out there on the dirt and see what it feels like to clash heads with another team again," Griffin said. "The team is excited for this season and what comes of it."

Note: This article appeared in The Daily Independent's 2013 Fall Sports Guide, a special section that ran on Aug. 29.